Grayhawk Golf Club superintendents Ernie Pock and Ed Juba and
Director of Golf Joe Shershenovich have been honored by the American Junior
Golf Association for their outstanding involvement with the Thunderbird
International Junior, which took place in Scottsdale, Ariz., May 25-28, 2012.

Pock and Juba
have earned the Superintendent of the Year Award, which honors the
superintendent that shares the AJGA’s vision and expertly prepares and
maintains a golf course for a world-class tournament experience. Shershenovich was named the Golf Professional of the Year, which
honors a PGA professional whose selfless commitment makes the championship
special for the players, families and staff.

Each year, the AJGA presents
awards to the tournaments with the best individual media coverage, Junior-Am
fundraising tournament, charitable giving, volunteer base and hospitality. The
AJGA also recognizes the year’s most outstanding general manager, as well as
the most improved event, best new tournament, best Invitational and overall
tournament of the year.

“It is such an honor to receive
this award along with Ernie (Pock),” Juba said. “The AJGA is such a great
organization to work with and they support us in everything we do with golf
course set-up for the event. It is really an honor for us to work with the AJGA
and we love seeing the juniors out year after year.”

As host of PGA TOUR’s Frys.com
event from 2007-2009 and host of the Thunderbird International Junior since
2000, Grayhawk Golf Club has seen its fair share of great competition. Throughout
the years, the course has been a favorite stop on the AJGA schedule and each
year at the annual event over Memorial Day weekend, both Pock and Juba work
hard to make the course PGA TOUR ready, even for the AJGA.

“I put the Thunderbird International
Junior in the same category as the PGA TOUR events we have hosted, especially
with how we set the course up,” Pock said. “We set up the course about the same
yardage as the TOUR event, but we normally have the greens rolling about a foot
faster for the AJGA event and it is really cool to see the level of talent
these juniors have and how they play the course.”

While Grayhawk Golf Club and
Shershenovich have achieved great things for the AJGA through the Thunderbird
International Junior, he has continually gone out of his way to help the AJGA
even more. Whether he contacts other golf professionals to spread the AJGA
mission and purpose or helps secure venues for future AJGA events,
Shershenovich is completely invested in fostering the goals and mission of the
AJGA.

“While my name is on this award,
I am accepting it on behalf of Grayhawk Golf Club,” Shershenovich said. “We
embrace the importance of junior golf whole heartedly at Grayhawk. It is really
neat because now after 13 years of history at this event we are seeing, not
only past champions, but even past participants, on the PGA and LPGA Tours.”

Past champions of the event
include Ryan Moore (2001), Brittany Lang (2002), Brian Harman (2003) and Morgan
Pressel (2005). In 2012, England’s Max Orrin became the first international boy
to hoist the trophy.

“I did not really know about the
AJGA growing up as junior golf was very different from where it is today,”
Shershenovich said. “To see how the AJGA has grown and to be able to share it
is truly amazing. It has to be the right ownership, golf professional and venue
to host an AJGA tournament. They have to embrace the event and junior golf.
However with the AJGA and its reputation, it is an easy sell for anyone.”

In its 14th year, the tournament
returns to the AJGA schedule in 2013 and will be played May 24-27, at Grayhawk
Golf Club.

The American Junior Golf Foundation is the primary recipient of all charitable giving to the AJGA and as such administers a variety of programs designed to compliment the AJGA and the members and families who make up our community. Learn more about these important programs and how your contributions to the Foundation secure the AJGA’s financial future for future generations to come.

The Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant program provides financial assistance to junior golfers who wish to play in AJGA events. Its goal is to give top-flight golf opportunities to young golfers regardless of financial resources. This program helps to fulfill the AJGA’s mission of developing young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.

Leadership Links

What is Leadership Links?

Leadership Links is a new program whereby the AJGA is able to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the AJGA youth development programs. Please click here to learn more about the program and the different opportunities available.

The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and
development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.